Patrick Mikell

Today we’ll talk about number 7 on the list and that’s the advantage of low and ultimately no debt. If you’re a follower of some of the investment gurus out there like Dave Ramsey or others, you know their teachings concentrate on staying out of debt. What’s the old saying, the debtor is slave to the lender. It is true that until that debt is paid back, some portion of your earnings has to be allocated repaying the debt or the phone calls are going to start and ultimately the loss of some possession. At the very least if it was money borrowed from a friend or family member, then there is always going to be the hurt feelings and strains on the relationship.

Let’s go back to the earlier scenario we talked about in previous post, what if you lost your job or your spouse lost their job. For most people that’s a serious personal disaster. But if you had no debt, no credit card debt, no home mortgage or no car loans to pay, how serious would a job loss in the short term be for you? On the other hand a big house mortgage payment, two new cars in the driveway, several credit cards with sizeable balances owed, add on some student loan debt, and you have the average American family debt load.

I’m sure there are other well known advisors on personal finance other than Dave Ramsey but he’s the one I’m most familiar with and his teachings make a lot of sense. He preaches living within your means, living off a budget, and staying out of debt. From the standpoint of being a prepper I can see distinct advantages to this type of lifestyle. For example if I have decided I want to start storing food so I have 30 to 60 to 90 days in my house, if I use his budget guidelines, I can lay a plan to make my purchases over time and achieve my goal. If I’ve decided I need a generator or solar panels then I create a line in my budget spreadsheet to save the money for that purchase. I save the money and pay cash, no purchases with credit. Some of Ramsey’s resources are free on the Internet others you need spend a little and attend the classes, or you can purchase one of his books or DVD’s. (Check your local library). I use one of his budget forms in an Excel spreadsheet that we modified the categories for the additional things we found important to budget for.

Not only does being out of debt benefit you and your family if there are no major disasters in your lifetime, it’s one of the commonalities for events. If nothing major happens, wouldn’t you be better off debt free and able to purchase the things you need and want as you can afford them and improve your preparedness. The advantage to being out of debt should things really get bad is you would be able to keep the things that you own, no worries of repossession if you didn’t have an income for whatever reason to keep up the payments. If the Po hits the fan on a higher level you’d be better prepared to deal with expenses as they come up.

As a side bar, do not neglect adequate insurance coverage for you home, automobile, health and life, they are investments that should be studied and made wisely. A bad localized storm that knocks a tree down on your house could be a major financial set back or an irritation and inconvenience depending on if you had adequate insurance coverage or not. Insurance can enable you to keep what you have if something goes wrong and not end up in huge debt because you didn’t invest the time and money.

First of all let me begin by saying that this information comes from several Internet sites on bartering and bartering networks. I’ll post links to these sites at the bottom of this post.

One of the first things you will need to build your Barter network, besides having one or more of the skills or abilities to supply goods that we covered in the previous post, is a way to let others know what you have to offer and then a way to document those items. One of the more common and established ways to accomplish this is by putting together a barter resume. On this resume you would want to put details on the skills or the products you have to offer the community.

Do you produce a product or goods that in good times is a necessity for people to have? One thing that comes to my mind immediately is soap. If you know how to manufacture it and have the tools, and very few other people in your local area know how, I’d say you got a valuable product for the community.

Something else to look at would be what things are consumed rapidly during a disaster event and are difficult to replace. Things like alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, gasoline or diesel may be things you want to store in bulk as barter items if you have the storage space.

In some of the lists I’ve seen they have listed ammunition as a barter item. Myself I’m not sure I’d be willing to swap bullets with somebody for bag of beans or anything else since that would give them the ability to come back and take my bag of beans by force, but that’s just me.

Another valuable skill not commonly thought about would be someone who has deep connections in the community and almost knows everyone in town in one fashion or another. They would be valuable in the respect that they may know where to find things and who has raw materials or equipment that might be use if times get bad supplies get tight.

By posting goods or services you offer on your barter resume it will be almost like a classified ad advertising which you have the offer to your community. And by offering the payment option of barter, you may greatly expand your market for your product, even now while things are somewhat stable.

In continuing to think of this like a classified ad, you would also post the items that you’re looking for or services you need. Below is a rough, (and plagiarized), sketch of what this resume my look like.

Barter Market Resume For:

William Tell

Location:

Middle Tennessee, La Vergne

Items For Trade:

Seasonal strawberries, 10 acre field of hay to be cut and bailed, seasoned firewood.

Skills For Trade:

Diesel mechanic, welding, woodworking and ham radio communications.

Items Wanted:

Free range chicken, beef, pork and silver or offer what you have for trade.

Once you’ve had a chance to fill out your own personal resume, the next step is finding a group of friends and friends of friends that might be of the same mindset and have an interest in participating in your barter group. At this point in time the Internet can be our friend, or an enemy, but that’s for another discussion entirely. If you feel confident advertising your barter group on the Internet, there are certainly numerous sites websites out there with local or regional boards that you can post your information on. I know for a fact that both frugal squirrels website and the survival podcast website have regional boards that people post meetings and get-togethers on a regular basis.

One thing to keep in mind regarding bartering in an organized group is there can be tax consequences due according to IRS guidelines. Do your own research and investigation to make sure you’re in compliance with your state, local or federal laws regarding bartering and taxes. In most cases if it’s a like for like exchange or there is no value added to one person on the other good exchange there should be any profit and therefore taxable event occurring. At least that’s what I’ve read on the Internet true, false or none of the above, it’s up to you to decide.

Today’s topic is covering security and self the defense. Two very broad topics that will need more in depth discussion, but for our purposes this will be a thought provoking piece.

So we’ve got our food, water, shelter and energy supplies being addressed but what if there is a relatively large-scale event and your local law enforcement’s ability to come when you call 911 is not there. It really does happen sometimes and you should have the ability to protect your self your family and your property in case help is not on the way immediately.

Whether you’re a homeowner or apartment dweller, good quality locks and deadbolts on your doors is your first line of defense. Quality locks and or blocks for your windows are the next things to look at upgrading. It’s true, locks keep honest people out and criminals will break in if they want to bad enough. Good locks will slow them down, especially if they are kept locked. A couple of years ago there was a television show that documented how criminals would select and break in to people’s homes. On several of the episodes they were able to enter the house through an unlocked window or unlocked back door, didn’t have to actually break in at all, so lock those locks. Even while your home they should be locked.

Home Security Systems can range from simple to sophisticated and in many cases will be determined by your budget. The higher end system can be monitored by an outside agency for a monthly or annual fee. The better alarm systems can even include smoke detection for fire as well as carbon monoxide detection. Adequate exterior lighting should be looked at so that you can see who’s at the front door or back door and can be equipped with motion sensors. More sophisticated security systems now offer closed-circuit camera that you can monitor over the Internet.

If you have a yard, a good quality fence to keep things in as well as out. On larger pieces of property there are numerous barrier plants that could be considered depending on your climate zone. Plants like Thorny Pyracantha, Hawthorn, Holly or the simple Black Berry bush planted on your property line or fencerows would deter people and or animals from crossing easily.

A dog in many cases is a good investment not only for companionship but security as well. If you can afford the cost of up keep, vet and immunizations, and have time to spend doing some basic training, a dog can bring years of pleasure. Their sense of hearing and smell does not need electricity to alert you if someone’s creeping around outside. Big dogs can offer some personal protection if properly trained and the right breed but smaller breeds of dogs can hold their own as well.

If you have never owned a dog, the decision is a big one, almost like the decision to purchase a gun. With ownership of either comes responsibility to invest time in research, training and selection before spending any money on either. If you do decide to get a dog, I encourage you to check with your local rescue groups and animal shelters first before spending the money on a pure breed show dog.

From a personal standpoint your physical fitness is an important consideration should you need to defend yourself from an attacker at some time. Many people choose to study one of the styles of martial arts. Martial arts classes are an excellent way to improve your physical condition to get into shape so I encourage you to check with friends may have taken classes in the past or look for recommendations on who are the better instructors in your area and get out and take a class. Just simple walking a mile or so every couple of days will improve your stamina and conditioning. There other sports that will get you into shape like hiking, backpacking, swimming, canoeing, snow skiing and bicycling to name some of my favorites.

Now let’s talk about weapons for self-defense. Before we get into the specifics of which weapon is better for what, you need to seek training from qualified instructors. I don’t know about your area or town but in mine there are at least a dozen reputable gun stores and gun ranges within 20 miles of my home. These are the people you need to seek out for information, instruction and price comparisons.

There are non lethal alternatives such as pepper spray and stun type weapons that are legal in most places in these United States for anyone to own and have in their home for self-defense. As always the disclaimer, check your local laws before purchasing. But really baseball bats and golf clubs are not good ideas for self defense except as a last resort, you need a little bit more but some distance between you and an intruder.

In the opinion of many “Experts” the ideal weapon for home defense is a shotgun. A visit to your local gun shop or range can help educate you in the selection and style and gauge that fits you best. The nice thing about shotgun is it can be used for hunting so it really dual-purpose tool we covered hunting very briefly in another post but with a shotgun in most parts of the country you can hunt small game like birds, squirrels and rabbits with one type of shotgun shell and larger game like deer with buckshot.

A handgun or pistol is probably another consideration for home protection. They come in all sizes shapes calibers and manufacturers and before you select one spend some time at several gun shops and do the research. Try out several different styles, calibers and manufacturer’s if possible at a local range before you make your decision. Training is an absolute necessity and should be sought very early in the process on how to handle, clean and safely operate the handgun.

As far as other weapons for self-defense to mention baseball bats, batons, knifes, swords, numb chucks, crossbow, bows and arrows tomahawks, axes, slings, chainsaws sticks and rocks……should we go on….but they’re really not practical for self-defense although that could be used if necessary.

Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, such as when the currency may be either unstable (e.g., hyperinflation or deflationary spiral) or simply unavailable for conducting commerce.

I’ve compiled a list of skills listed below that are valuable today and maybe even more so in the future should times get tough and we have issues with a downturn in our economy. It is based on several different lists that I found on Internet. I deleted a few, cleaned up the wording on some of the descriptions and added some new ones to make it a more complete list for me. How many of these do you possess now or could learn in the near future. I think it is fair to say that some skills may have more value than others. Some trades are very specific and take time, practice and dedication to learn such as what a doctor or nurse may possess. Depending on the situation some skills may be more needed and in demand in your location. For instance if you live in a farming community there may be many other people with similar skill sets as you. You may need mechanics welders or vegetable farmers to meet the needs you do not have the ability to fill. The same goes for a community of cattle ranchers, you may need the skills of a farmer for fresh food for your family and your animals. In the case of mechanics, blacksmiths, plumbers or other trade and repair skilled people they not only require training and knowledge but specialized tools to perform their job.

How many of these do you possess now and how many could you learn over the next six months or year. Although it would be impossible to know all there is to know about these, having a number of these skills in your repertoire would make you a more valuable individual in your network and to your community.

This list is by no means definitive and complete so take some time to review and add your skill set to the list if it is missing.

Agriculture, Farming Expertise

Accountant, Book Keeping

Alcohol Production & Distillation

Ammo Reloading

Architect, Home Reinforcement

Baker, Cooking Expertise

Bee Keeping

Beer and Wine Making

Biofuel Production

Blacksmithing

Chemist

Computer Programming

Construction

Defense Planning

Dentist

Doctor

Doctor’s Medical Assistant

Electrician

Electronics Repair

Engineer, Community Planning, Manufacturing, Electrical

Firearms Proficiency

Firearms Repair

Fishing

Food Preservation & Storage

HAM Radio Operator

Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning, (HVAC)

Heavy Equipment Operator

Home schooling, Tutoring, Teaching Experience

Horse Shoeing, Fairer

Hunting & Trapping Skills

Knife Making

Lawyer, Legal Assistant

Lumber Jack / Tree Felling

Nurse

Nurse’s Aid

Martial Arts Training

Manager, Planner

Mechanic, Automobile

Mechanic, Diesel Engines

Mechanic, Small Engine Repair

Military Training

Plumber

Ranching, Large & Small Animal Care

Security

Seed Saving

Sewing, Knitting, Weaving, Textiles

Small Appliance Repair

Soap Making, Candle Making, Hygiene Products

Stone Mason, Brick Working

Veterinarian

Web Site Design

Welding, Metal Working

Well Construction, Water Table Expertise

Wild Foods Expert

Wood Working

Writer

Next we’ll talk about the process of putting a resume together and sharing it with your network.

Today will be talking about alternative energy resources that are available and some of the various options I have found. We will take a look at plans for lighting, cooking your food, in wintertime heating your home and if you’re really industrious you might even include producing the energy component required for your vehicle.

Starting with backup power, let’s recall a common scenario, when was last time the lights went out at your house and you lost power for a short time. Did you have to fumble around in the dark looking for flashlights or candles? An easy project is to build a blackout kit that consists of a box or container of some kind that you keep handy in a closet or cabinet with some flashlights, spare batteries, candles, matches and maybe even oil lamps. If the power goes out for a short time, you can easily get to your emergency lighting. Keep this kit in one place that everyone knows about and it will be handy to pass out to your family members in case of a storm or something else causing a power outage. Adding some glow sticks might be for your kit too since they don’t need batteries. They typically have a shelf life so they need to be checked and rotated on a regular basis. They are good especially if you have small kids, not only for their safe lighting ability but their entertainment value as well. One other sidebar about having a blackout kit is if you have a reluctant spouse this might be a simple way to get them started down the road for preparations and show him or her the value of having taking the time to do some basic preps.

As far as backup power solutions there are solar panels, batteries with inverters, generator sets, both small enough to power a few things or big enough to run your whole house. Even more options are available like wind and water power if you have those resources on your property. You should consider if you chose to invest in these, even if there were no major disaster, would there be a long-term benefit to my family to have some type of backup power supply. Your individual situation and budget will be major determining factors in deciding how much to invest on a particular backup system. Heck, you might even want to become energy independent, go off the grid and not rely on the power companies and their monthly bill.

One other thing to keep in mind as far as backup power systems go, the old saying from the military is “Two is One and One is None” is something to consider. If one of the major components breaks and you only have one, you have none, so have a backup.

Is your home or bug out location all electric? If so how you plan to cook your food in your electric stove or oven has no power? Do you have propane or natural gas? If these power sources were not available what your plan B? Many of us have a propane barbecue pit and some extra bottles propane, if that’s you then you could be set for a short while.

But you not only need some sort of heat energy for food preparation, you may need it to boil your water to make it safe to drink. There are single burner and multi-burner camping stoves available from retailers in most cities as well as the Internet that range in price from a few dollars to $100.00 or more. That could be plan B for heating food water but they still require fuel of some kind. Plan C could be cooking over a wood fire and there are numerous different ways to that.

How about fuel for your car, motorcycle or generator? There is a wealth of information available online and in books on producing alcohol that can be used to power your gas burning equipment. Making alcohol requires a source of heat and a mixture of something containing sugar that can be fermented. That might not be a bad project to start investigating now while the information is available.

How cold does it get where you live? Do you have a fireplace or other heat source that could be used if the power’s out and there is no more propane or natural gas? Wood has been used for heating and cooking for centuries. The house we live in now was built with a big brick fireplace and we installed a Buck Stove Insert shortly after moving in. It is much more efficient than the standard fireplace as it captures a lot the heat that would have just gone up the chimney. The steel mass radiates heat into the room and a small internal fan circulates heat as well. Kerosene heaters are also highly efficient so if you go this route make sure you have spare wicks and ample supply of kerosene to get you through the winter.

An Illinois state senator representing the south side of Chicago who recently announced he would seek the Congressional seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was arrested at O’Hare airport Wednesday when TSA personnel found an unloaded .25-caliber pistol and a loaded magazine inside the garment bag he was taking through the security checkpoint.

Democrat State Sen. Donne Trotter was charged with felony attempt to board an airplane with a weapon. Trotter told authorities that he had worked a night shift for a security company the night before and had not realized the pistol and magazine were in his bag when he left home on his way to meetings in Washington, D.C. He was held in custody pending a bond hearing.

Now that we have dealt with the facts in Associated Press style fashion, let’s take a closer look at Sen. Trotter’s record. To say that what we have here is a case of exquisite hypocrisy would not be an overstatement.

In 1995, Trotter voted “no” on narrowly-defeated legislation to allow Illinois residents to carry concealed firearms. Illinois is the only state in the nation where citizens have no concealed carry rights. Two years later, he voted “present” on a measure that ultimately passed both the Senate and the House that would have reduced the penalty for getting caught with a concealed firearm. That bill died through amendatory veto by then Gov. Jim Edgar.

There’s more. While police sources said that Trotter did have a valid firearms owner’s identification card, (FOID), it listed his Springfield office as his address, in apparent violation of state law requiring the card carrier’s residence be provided. It will be interesting to see if that pistol was registered in Chicago, as required by city ordinance.

When Trotter’s arrest made the news in the Windy City, one wag posted that “Traditionally, Congressmen from the Second District are arrested AFTER the election.” Indeed. We also recall that President Obama during one of the presidential debates in response to a gun control question talked about “handguns” being a problem in his home city. Who knew that one was being carried by a State Senator and would be Congressman? You can’t make this stuff up.

As a quick recap from part 1 & 2 where we discussed the commonality of making preparations based on this threat matrix.

Individual – Localized – Large Scale – National Scale – Global

In part one we looked at the scales of events and how each might affect us as individuals.

In part two we started to look at the specifics we need to work on for our individual preparations depending or our location.

So back to the question where is the commonality? No matter what the level of the event, be it something as simple as a job loss, a localized disaster or major global event items number 2 through 6 that we talked about in the prior post are constant needs.

As a beginning prepper we start at the beginning, that highest probability thing most likely to happen to us individuals, a job loss.

In this scenario we need water that is clean and drinkable, we need food, we need shelter, and we need energy and we need security. If it only takes you a month to find a new job you really only need to have a month’s worth of food on hand and money the bank to pay your bills for the next month. For a short-term power outage perhaps from a storm or transformer failure, if you have a small generator to keep your freezer and refrigerator a few lights running you probably only need enough gasoline to run a generator for a couple of days. If your local water supply becomes contaminated but your local water company is working to correct the problem you only need to have perhaps weeks worth of stored water on hand and a small filter system is a backup. Basically as you move up the scale and the size of the event or disaster you increase the number of days you can operate autonomously from outside support and utility companies.

In many “Prepper” discussion groups and circles one of the topics that gets the most attention is guns and ammunition. Don’t get me wrong on this, they are both high on the list of things needed and we will cover them later. In my opinion top of the list should really be food. After all, most of us eat three meals a day and stop and ask yourself, when was the last time you were in a gunfight? For the majority of us the answer is never, for others in the line of duty, way too often. So if for whatever reason the grocery stores run out and the restaurants are closed, what will you do when it’s time to eat?

It has been reported in a number of places that the average household in America has less than 1 week of food in their home at any given time. I have not been unable to verify any research or credible report that it is a fact, but don’t find it too had to believe.

Let’s step back to our earlier, most likely personal disaster scenario where, you or your spouse has lost your job. If you had 30 days of food stored in your home, would that help with your cash flow until you were able to find another job? What about 60 days, or 6 month’s worth stored? If you don’t have at least a month’s worth stored right now, there are many ways to build your food storage over time and within a budget. Copy canning is one way, stocking up on sale items is another. It is not a good idea to buy a years supply of canned goods all at one time. For one thing it’s expensive and the second is canned foods have an expiration date. (That’s another topic for another post later on). By purchasing your storage food over time, you can buy a newer expiration dated food and put them into a rotation behind your older cans.

The most important things to keep in mind as you begin and maintain your stored food, is you MUST store what you eat, AND eat what you store. If you don’t already have a grocery list that has what your family commonly eats now, start one. Goggle copy canning and it will give you a basic way to build up your food storage over time. Just because Spam is on sale, but no one in your household will eat it, don’t buy it. Same goes for macaroni & cheese, canned spinach, Captain Crunch or any other thing that you’re family won’t eat.

Dried rice, beans, pasta, wheat, and corn are inexpensive, high in calorie count and will last almost indefinitely when packed and stored correctly. They are the basic staples most of us are storing but it is going to be some pretty boring meals within a couple of days if that is all you have. Having a good variety of canned vegetables, canned meats and fruits will help you create some variety in your meals and avoid food boredom. Another thing to keep in mind for food storage is does anyone in your family have specific food allergies that should be avoided. And as a final storage thought, do not forget the dried spices.

The advantages to having your own garden can be easy to list. How about knowing what you are eating has not been bombarded with chemicals and pesticides or the varieties that you chose to grow are not GMO’s. A little exercise and time in the sunshine and fresh air is good for most people as well. Depending how much area you can devote to a garden, and how much time you have to manage it, you may be able to substantially cut your food bill at the grocery store. A fair amount of fresh vegetables and root crops like potatoes and carrots can even be grown in containers if you don’t have the yard space for a full blown garden. Even small trees will produce in containers. My wife has two dwarf Meyer’s lemon trees in large pots that give us dozens of fresh fruit every year. Although they have to be moved inside during the winter months here, (we’re in middle Tennessee), but with them in a container it’s a fairly easy project with a two wheeled hand dolly.

Fishing and hunting equipment along with the experience, training and skills are another means to put food on your family’s table. Both are great hobbies and a day in the woods or on one of your local waterways beats sitting in front of the TV any day of the week.

We left off last time discussing the likely hood of each scenario in the Threat Probability Matrix.

Individual – Localized – Large Scale – National Scale – Global

So where exactly does commonality come into play with these various levels of threats and disasters? Let’s take a look at what we all us humans need to survive and to have relative comfort in our day-to-day lives. Afterwards we will try to explain how the commonalities between these factor into our preparedness plans.

The basic human needs for survival / preparedness and to have relative comfort are:

Knowledge, knowing what to do with the things you have.

Water that’s clean and drinkable

Shelter, could be your home, a tent, or proper clothing for your area.

Knowledge is something that takes time to acquire just like skills and abilities, they will need to be taught and learned. Hopefully you will spend your entire life learning new things and skills.

For instance, how to hammer a nail is a basic skill, but the knowledge is what size hammer and what size nail should you use for a specific job. If you are lucky enough to have parents, relatives or friends that can teach you things like cooking, gardening, carpentry, appliance repair, hunting, fishing, the list goes on, you should take full advantage of what they can offer.

Today, as I write this, there are skilled instructors all around us that specialize in areas that we can learn from and be able to gain the knowledge and tools we may lack. Some instruction is free for the asking, other may have a small cost and others may cost several hundred dollars. There are also books, DVD’s and the Internet for research and you should have a library card if you live close to a public library where knowledge is stored the old fashion way. Once a disaster happens, those resources might not be available so time’s a wasting, start getting the knowledge while you still can.

For modern preppers, as we are sometimes referred to, there are some basic things you need to know that are common to all levels of the threat matrix. If you already have a plan A for numbers 2 through 6 in case the current systems fail and have a back up plan B if there is a problem with A, you are in pretty good shape. If you don’t, then those are the first basic skills you need to somehow invest the time attending a class, reading and learning.

Consider what could go wrong with your water supply. We have lived in places where the city water supply became contaminated from floodwaters and chemical spills. (Greater New Orleans area, they get their drinking water from the Mississippi River). Having some sort of a way to filter, boil or chemically treat water to make it safe for drinking is a must have. With out clean water you will die and if you drink contaminated water you might only get sick or you might die. If you are on a well and you lose power, do you have back up power source or a hand pump? There are a number of ways to clean water, do you know one or more if you had to make your water safe to drink? How about keeping some amount of stored water on hand for a short-term interruption. There are containers from clean 1 liter soda bottles to 5 gallon jugs to hundreds of gallon tanks available from lots of different suppliers and sources.

Regarding your shelter and wherever it is you live now, a house, apartment or bug out cabin in the deep woods, we can address that next. If your primary plan is to shelter in place, there are a number of things you can have on hand to maintain the structure. If there is a bad storm and it damages your roof or knocks out a window what would you do? Having a couple of a blue tarps, several rolls of heavy mil plastic, some duct tape and a staple gun with a good supply of staples gives you the basics to make some temporary repairs after the weather clears. In hurricane prone areas we’ve all probably seen on the TV people boarding up windows with plywood to protect them from breakage. In flood prone areas, sand bags might be what you need to have a supply of. If your house has a basement and a pump to keep water out like some parts of the country do, back up electric power is needed. In areas where tornados are common, either a reinforced safe room or a storm shelter maybe worth investing in.